The NYPIRG Straphangers Campaign and Transportation Alternatives today awarded their third annual “Pokeys” for the slowest local bus routes in New York City. The city’s slowest bus route is the M34 cross-town, averaging 4 miles per hour at 5 p.m. during the evening rush, as estimated by MTA New York City Transit officials. (See attached tables listing bus speeds for 190 local bus routes in the city.)

According to the groups, the slowest bus routes in each borough are:

B63 -- 5.4 mph

Runs between Bay Ridge and downtown Cobble Hill, Brooklyn

Bx13 -- 5.2 mph

Runs between Yankee Stadium in the Bronx and Upper Manhattan

M34 -- 4.0 mph

Runs cross-town on 34th Street in Manhattan

Q24 and Q32 -- 6.9 mph

Runs between Jamaica and Bushwick, Brooklyn (Q24)

Runs between Jackson Heights and Penn Station (Q32)

S60 -- 7.6 mph

Runs between Sunnyside and Grymes Hill

The groups also found that the scheduled running time for several city bus routes is as long as most regular scheduled Amtrak service from New York to Philadelphia. For example, the groups noted, B63 from Bay Ridge to Cobble Hill can run up to one hour and 24 minutes during the afternoon. Afternoon runs of New York-Philadelphia Amtrak regular service (non-Acela, non-Metroliner) can take as little as one hour and fifteen minutes, with most scheduled times varying between one hour and twenty to one hour and twenty five minutes.

Scheduled running time for limited service with fewer stops on the First/Second Avenue M-15 bus from Harlem to City Hall can last one hour and twenty two minutes, said the groups. For example, an M15 scheduled to leave East Harlem at 5:09 p.m. is scheduled to arrive at South Ferry at 6:31 p.m.

Other bus routes with longer running times than the NY-Philadelphia Amtrak run include the B-15 (1:23 minutes) from Bedford Stuyvesant to JFK Airport; the M3, M4, M5, M7, M101, M102 and M103 (ranging between 1:25 and 1:41 minutes) from various points in Upper Manhattan to the greater Greenwich Village area.

“Many city buses move at a maddening crawl,” said Gene Russianoff, staff attorney for the NYPIRG Straphangers Campaign.

“There’s a lot city traffic officials could do to make buses travel faster,” said Paul Steely White, director of Transportation Alternatives.

White said, “Bus riders could have quicker and more reliable trips with wider exclusive bus lanes with expanded hours; priority signals for buses; longer and better marked bus stops; and the use of on-bus cameras to enforce the exclusive bus lanes.” Russianoff noted that the seventeen overall slowest bus routes in the city were all in Manhattan, where traffic congestion is greatest. (See attached tables.)

In the 2002 Pokey Awards, the groups found that the slowest bus route in the city was the M96, which travels cross-town in Manhattan along 96th Street. In the 2003 awards, the groups awarded the Pokey to the M23, which travels cross-town in Manhattan along 23rd Street.

However, the groups cautioned that comparisons could not be made between the 2002, 2003 and 2004 finding due to changes in the group’s methodology. The 2004 Pokeys are based on 5 p.m. bus speeds estimated by officials of MTA New York City Transit. The 2002 Pokeys were based on noon-time New York City Transit estimated bus speeds. The 2003 Pokeys were calculated by using New York City Transit afternoon running times and schedules at the most crowded points for 60 of the most-used local bus routes in New York City.

In July 2004, the MTA awarded a $2 million contract to a team of consultants to review possible “Bus Rapid Transit” strategies. The study will take two years and is being conducted with the City Department of Transportation.

Among the possible ‘Bus Rapid Transit” strategies which will be reviewed are:

• Wider bus lanes with expanded hours.
• Longer bus stops to eliminate waits for multiple buses to enter the stop.
• Bus lanes with physical means to discourage other vehicles from violating bus lanes.
• Pre-boarding fare payment at high-volume times and places to reduce dwell time at stops.
• Bus priority signals to help late-arriving buses catch up to schedule.
• Scheduling for even spacing while allowing buses to travel as fast as conditions allow.

The MTA has earmarked $21.9 million in its proposed 2005-2009 five-year capital plan to fund BRT initiatives in 2007. “That’s a good start, but we urge the MTA and the City to include more BRT funds in future years,” said White.

The groups have also released two “anatomies” of bus routes — the B41 in Brooklyn and the M96 in Manhattan — detailing specific measures to reduce travel times. These anatomies can be found at: http://www.straphangers.org and http://www.transalt.org.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg has expressed strong interest in “Bus Rapid Transit” strategies. His campaign platform called for “subways on the surface” in such places as First and Second Avenue in Manhattan, said the groups.